The man behind the takes.

Victor Akhidenor has spent a decade and a half in Nigerian sports newsrooms, and long enough on the terraces to know that a match is never just ninety minutes. In the press box, he answers to Pele.

He cut his teeth as a staff writer at Complete Communications, chasing interviews and feature copy. He became Sports Editor at The Cable, then ran the desks at Sports Nigeria and FC Naija. In 2015 he won the Diamond Award for Media Excellence for Sports Reporting, recognition for years spent in press boxes and viewing centres, listening to the quotable, the quarrelsome and the occasionally unhinged.

Today he is Editor at Nidacity, writing on Nigerian business, economics and culture. He holds an MSc in Media and Communication from Pan-Atlantic University and is pursuing a PhD in Mass Communication at the University of Benin, researching African sports journalism and national identity. He is also a member of the Football Coaches Association of African Nations.

Beyond football, he has published Football Memories, two poetry collections and a stage play. He lives in Lagos, where he is still taking notes.

Career history

• Now Editor, Nidacity
• Now PhD researcher, Mass Communication, University of Benin
• 2015 Diamond Award for Media Excellence (Sports Reporting)
• Previously Sports Editor, The Cable
• Previously Editor, Sports Nigeria and FC Naija
• Debut Staff Writer, Complete Communications Ltd